Marine vet gets his day in court

Andrew Tahmooressi tells judge he didn't intend to drive into Mexico with three firearms

July 9, 2014 - Tijuana, B.C., Mexico - Former U.S. Marine Andrew Tahmooressi is led from court in Tijuana after a daylong hearing Wednesday. Tahmooressi is charged with breaking Mexican weapons and ammunition laws when he drove from San Diego to Tijuana with three firearms and more than 400 rounds of ammunition in his vehicle in late March.
— John Gibbins

July 9, 2014 - Tijuana, B.C., Mexico - Former U.S. Marine Andrew Tahmooressi is led from court in Tijuana after a daylong hearing Wednesday. Tahmooressi is charged with breaking Mexican weapons and ammunition laws when he drove from San Diego to Tijuana with three firearms and more than 400 rounds of ammunition in his vehicle in late March.
— John Gibbins

TIJUANA  A U.S. Marine veteran detained in Mexico on weapons charges since March 31 testified on Wednesday in federal court for the first time about the events leading up to his detention.

Andrew Tahmooressi told the judge that “he did not intend to be in Mexico, nor did he ever plan to cross into Mexico,” said his attorney, Fernando Benítez as he walked out of the federal courthouse in the city’s Rio Zone.

The 25-year-old Florida native is fighting charges that he violated Mexican laws when he drove from San Diego to Tijuana with three firearms and more than 400 rounds of ammunition in his vehicle. Prosecutors maintain that the weapons — a 5.56-caliber assault rifle, a .45-caliber pistol and a 12-gauge shotgun — were loaded and within reach. They are charging Tahmooressi with possession.

Jill Tahmooressi, mother of Andrew Tahmooressi, and attorney Fernando Benítez, left, and attorney Abraham Hernandez, right, walked to the federal courthouse in Tijuana on Wednesday morning for a hearing on her son's charges of entering the country illegally with weapons.
— John Gibbins

Jill Tahmooressi, mother of Andrew Tahmooressi, and attorney Fernando Benítez, left, and attorney Abraham Hernandez, right, walked to the federal courthouse in Tijuana on Wednesday morning for a hearing on her son's charges of entering the country illegally with weapons.
— John Gibbins

Benítez said the testimony showed that Tahmooressi’s rights were violated while in the custody of Customs authorities at the El Chaparral port of entry. The attorney dwelled on the length of time — close to eight hours — during which the Marine veteran was held with neither legal counsel nor a proper translator. During that time, the U.S. Consulate was not notified, said the attorney.

‘Those irregularities are grounds for several legal actions that we will undertake in the following days,” Benítez said. “They are central to our defensive strategy.”

At the attorney’s side was Tahmooressi’s mother, Jill, who has been her son’s most visible and steadfast defender, making frequent media appearances to appeal for his release.

She said she was able to speak with her son for 20 minutes, and that “we’re optimistic about the future. He’s very strong and positive.”

The next hearing is Aug. 4, Benitez said.

The emergence of the mother and legal team came after more than eight hours spent inside the courthouse. Besides Andrew Tahmooressi, Judge Victor Octavio Luna Escobedo of the Sixth District Court heard testimony from two Customs agents who witnessed the arrest.

Reporters were barred from the proceedings, and spent the day camped outside on the sidewalk.

Tahmooressi’s arrest has drawn attention on both sides of the border, and his defenders have been focusing on the fact that the weapons were legally acquired in the United States, and that he is a war veteran who served two tours of duty in Afghanistan and recently began treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder.